Bleed Black
by Megan Potassium
Summary: Mercedes felt nothing but terror as she looked up into Kurt's smirking face. She didn't like this new Kurt; he scared her. She missed the old one- her best friend. But the old Kurt was dead… Literally. -Adopted by Ice-avenged-
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

Prologue

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This wasn't happening. This _could not _be happening.

Kurt was dead. Mercedes has accepted that.

So why the hell was she running from him?

"Mercedes, come_ on!_" Rachel yelled at her, reaching for her hand. Mercedes broke out of her state and grabbed Rachel's wrist, allowing the frantic diva to drag her along.

"Where's everyone else?" Mercedes asked, her voice cracking several times. She shuddered and whipped her head around as the lights in the warehouse flickered.

"They're upstairs, but we have to-"

Rachel was cut off as a dark shadow appeared in front of them. Kurt stepped out into the little bit of light, his face teasing. Rachel shrank back into Mercedes' side, gripping her wrist to the point of pain.

Clicking his tongue, Kurt smiled._ "_Leaving so soon?" He asked playfully, his head cocked to one side. "But Mercy," he drawled, his eyes bearing into hers with such intensity that she couldn't look away, "I thought we were having a sleepover."

Rachel let out an exasperated sob as she lurched forward, swinging her fist at Kurt's jaw. The resulting _crack _made Mercedes flinch, but she ran after Rachel, ignoring Kurt's taunting chuckle.

"Freeze," He said quietly, just loud enough for Mercedes to hear over their loud footsteps.

Immediately, both her feet were stuck to the ground and she was unable to move. She squeezed her eyes shut and let a sob rake through her frozen body.

"Mercedes!" Rachel yelled, turning around.

"Get outta here!" Mercedes growled back. She opened her eyes and stared at Rachel, silently begging her to save herself. Rachel's head jerked up and down as she nodded. She pivoted on the spot and tried to make a break for it.

"You too, Miss Berry." Kurt's calm voice sounded. He was right behind Mercedes; she could feel his freezing breath on the back of her neck.

Rachel let out a soft scream as she stopped dead in her tracks too. Mercedes refused to take her eyes off of the back of Rachel's quivering head, afraid if she looked anywhere else she would completely lose it. The silence was driving Mercedes to near hysterics already. Just standing there waiting for Kurt to make a move was breaking her down.

All of a sudden, Rachel crumpled to the ground. Mercedes screamed her name, but Rachel didn't respond.

"Relax," Kurt whispered, his lips at her ear, "She's just unconscious."

Mercedes snapped her eyes shut again as Kurt's fingers wrapped around her wrist.

"Turn around."

She had no choice. She was nothing but a puppet on strings; a pawn in Kurt's sick game of chess. Her feet moved on their own account, turning her body around to face her once best friend.

Kurt's one hand stayed on her wrist, his grip firm, but light. His other hand lifted up to touch the locket hanging delicately around Mercedes' throat. Mercedes held her breath; scared of the close proximity of Kurt's hand to her airways. The attack never came; instead Kurt's free hand moved down to grip her other wrist.

"Look at me," he breathed gently. _This _time Kurt was asking- giving her the choice. Mercedes didn't. She was far too scared of what she would see if she did. Kurt chuckled under his breath.

"Always so stubborn." He sighed. "Mercedes…" he warned, his grip on her wrists tightening in the slightest, "Look at me."

There it was- the demand layered behind the words. Mercedes' eyelids unwillingly opened, revealing Kurt's face. She looked right into his clear eyes; the eyes she once loved- the eyes that used to fascinate her. Sometimes blue, sometimes green. Now they were clear blue; like water. They must have been blue the night he died.

The tiniest hint of a coy smile was pulling at the edge of Kurt's lips. He opened his mouth to say something else, but closed it again, letting the smile break free. Mercedes knew it was supposed to be a sweet, reassuring smile- like he used to give her all the time. But all she could see in it was evil. His eyes continued to hold hers, daring her to look away.

She couldn't.

Kurt let go of one of her wrists and lifted a hand, brushing a few strands of hair off of Mercedes' forehead.

"Are you scared?" He asked so quietly Mercedes almost missed it. She didn't fully grasp he was asking a question, she was so transfixed by his eyes.

Kurt's semi-pleasant features turned into a frown. "Answer me." He demanded in soft voice. Mercedes nodded once, just a slight movement of her head. Kurt's frown softened.

"Are you scared… of me?"

All the metaphorical strings dropped from her face and Mercedes was able to close her eyes again. She nodded once more, terrified of Kurt's next move.

He sighed and pulled her into a tight hug, his arms wrapping snuggly around her back. Mercedes' arms dangled at her sides until they lifted themselves around Kurt's middle. His head moved to the side and he planted a soft kiss on Mercedes' cheek, his cold lips sending a shiver through her whole body.

His lips parted and she felt cool breath on her skin. "Good." He whispered. Mercedes lifted her head to look into Kurt's terrifyingly beautiful eyes once more.

The last thing she saw before the ground came up to meet her was Kurt's wicked smile, taunting her all the way to unconsciousness.

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	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

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Mercedes stood at her locker, trying to juggle all of her textbooks and force them into her uncooperative bag. One of the textbooks, damn calculus, fell out of her arms and onto the floor. Mercedes grumbled a little and shifted all her other books to one arm as she tried to bend down. Before she could even get halfway, a pale hand reached out and grabbed the book for her.

"Need some help?"

Mercedes straightened up at the unmistakable voice and looked right into Kurt's face. He had one eyebrow arched and a teasing smile. She rolled her eyes; typical Kurt.

"Here," he said, motioning for her to hand over the rest of her textbooks. Mercedes willingly gave them up and held her bag open as Kurt dumped them in.

"You have great timing," Mercedes sighed, hoisting her bag over her shoulder and closing her locker. "Now come on, let's go to glee!"

Kurt hesitated, "We can take our time," he said nervously, "In fact, I'm feeling a little sick. I think I'll skip glee today." Kurt offered up a pleasant smile and made a move to walk around Mercedes. He didn't get very far.

Reaching out, Mercedes grabbed a handful of Kurt's jacket, ignoring his squeak of protest. "Oh no, Kurt, you are _not _getting out of this." She stated simply, fixing Kurt with a glare.

"But Mercy…"

"No." Mercedes tried to keep the glare on her face but Kurt's puppy dog eyes pierced right though her stubbornness. Damn him, he knew that was her weakness; the boy could work the sad eyes better than most five year olds. Mercedes sighed, "Boy, you better get that look off your face right now."

"Is it working?"

"No."

Kurt huffed but dropped the look. "Fine; can you let go now? This is my favourite jacket."

Mercedes let him go but linked her arm with his, dragging him to the choir room.

"Look Boo, just get it over with now. It's no big deal." She tried to comfort him. Obviously it wasn't working.

"No big deal?" Kurt half shrieked, earning a few sideways glances in the crowded hall. "Mr. Schuester is making me sing a _punk rock song! _How is that no big deal?"

"Tone it down a notch Kurt," Mercedes rolled her eyes, "He's making everyone sing a punk song. It's not his fault you drew first."

"It probably is." Kurt muttered, "He probably sat in his office and went 'I'm going make the gay kid who likes show tunes sing first' and somehow he tampered with the hat and made me draw first."

Mercedes laughed at her best friend as he continued with his rant.

"I mean, my voice is clearly meant for Broadway, not some gothic heavy metal underground band."

"So I take it you didn't find a song?" Mercedes asked through her giggles.

"No, I did," He frowned, "But I had to resort to the Canadian archives to find it."

"Hey, Canadian's aren't so bad; my aunt lives up in Manitoba."

Kurt cast a patronizing glare, "Well then, no offence, but their music is horrid, all I could find was punk rock and folk tunes."

Mercedes laughed again, elbowing Kurt in the ribs. "Y'know, it doesn't matter how much you bitch; you still have to sing it."

Kurt waved his free hand idly, almost hitting a freshman in the face, "Whatever," he said airily, ignoring the death stare from said freshman. "I'm still coming over after glee today, right?"

"Right," Mercedes agreed. She wondered why Kurt was constantly reassuring that he was, indeed, still coming over. And most of all, why he actually made plans in _advance_. It spiked her curiosity but Mercedes said nothing. Kurt was her best friend, he was welcome anytime.

"Good. We need to start planning," he said, giving her a wink.

"_Ku-urt," _Mercedes whined, "We don't need to plan! It's just my birthday; we'll invite everyone over, order some pizzas and put on a movie."

"I want you to listen to what you just said." Kurt replied, sounding dangerously like Ms. Sylvester. "It's not just your birthday; it's your _seventeenth _birthday." He raised his nose in the air, refusing to acknowledge any of Mercedes' arguments. "And besides, failing to plan is planning to fail."

"I have a plan!"

"You do," Kurt agreed, "But it's a horrible one."

* * *

"Alright guys!" Mr. Schue said as he clapped his hands together. "I'm really excited for this week's assignment-"

"That makes one of us," Kurt whispered a little too loudly to Mercedes. She tried not to laugh as his depressed look as several others giggled.

Kurt received 'the look' from Mr. Schue but he continued on, "I asked you guys to pick a punk song that express some of the anger you feel; and I think-" He stopped and smiled "-that a few of you are going to really excel at this one."

Everyone ignored Puck's scoff.

"But without further ado, Kurt!" Schue's head turned to find him, "you're up."

Kurt sighed and stood up. It looked like he was walking to his execution. Mercedes tried to feel bad for her friend, but she couldn't help but laugh every now and again.

"You brought the video camera, right?" Artie asked as he craned his neck around to look at her. Mercedes reached down and smacked his shoulder. "I'm serious!" he stressed, "If we send it to the right people we could win a lot of money!"

Mercedes laughed again, but both of them sobered up immediately when they saw Kurt's intense glare.

"Now before I start, I would like to say a few words," he announced, earning everyone's attention. "Although this is _clearly _not my preferred genre, I have chosen a song that reflects my struggle to fit into a society that is regrettably not ready for me." Kurt paused and pursed his lips for a small moment, "I realize some lyrics in the song may be worrisome to a few, I assure you I am _not _suicidal, I will not _become _suicidal, and I have no desire to die anytime soon." His lips formed into a tight smile as he nodded to band to start.

The guitar started with a soft, eerie sort of melody, which quickly morphed into hard, choppy riff. Mercedes' joyful mood started to dwindle away as she watched Kurt. His eyes were fixed on the floor and he looked deep in thought. The guitar continued to play for a few more seconds before Kurt broke out of his trance, took the microphone stand in one hand and the microphone in another.

"_Let the rain fall down let it fall to the ground, let the rain fall down to the ground. And the birds don't sing, no they don't make a sound when you're six feet underground." _

Mercedes narrowed her eyes at Kurt, his voice was raspier than usual, it reminded her a little of the whole "Pink Houses" fiasco. The angry, depressed look on his face was what Mercedes was most worried about; it didn't look right with his boyish features.

"_Well they cast me out when the word spread around that I never sang in the church. And it took one night for the town to decide I'm afflicted by the curse." _

Kurt's face turned to nothing but bitterness as he sang. Mercedes want to smack and hug him all at the same time.

"_And the rain falls down; let it fall to the ground."_

There was three second guitar solo where Kurt rocked his shoulders to the bass drum, _"And the birds don't sing no they don't make a sound." _

Many looks were being shared around the room; Kurt was right when he said his voice was meant for Broadway. There was another guitar solo before Kurt started singing again and Mercedes almost covered her ears. She didn't want to hear Kurt sing about death; just the very idea scared her.

"_So I look to the sky, tell me why, tell me why, do they all get to live and I have to die?"_

Mercedes was giving Kurt a full out glare that would make Sue Sylvester cower in her track suit. She hoped he saw it, but he was refusing to make eye contact with anyone in the room, opting to alternate between closed eyes and staring at the floor. The guitar continued at its intense pace.

"_So they marched me down to the center of town with their pitchforks high in the air. I was chained and bound with a blindfold around so the judge wouldn't catch my stare. And they hung my soul from the gallows pole but the witch they never found, so to those who don't fit society's mold, learn to swim or you will drown. And the rain falls down; let it fall to the ground."_

Kurt started with the chorus again. It wasn't that he didn't sound _good, _Mercedes decided; her boy was singing the hell out of the song. It was that it didn't sound _right_.

"_And the birds don't sing, no they don't make a sound. So I look to the sky, tell me why, tell me why, do they all get to live and I have to die?"_

Unlike the last chorus, the song morphed into the bridge instead of another verse. The words had Mercedes biting her tongue- Again, Kurt was right. Some of the lyrics were _very _worrisome.

"_And the angels sing: let it shine, let it shine, dry the teardrops from my eyes. And the bells will ring when the blind lead the blind, __'cause the dead can't testify. __And because I can't take an eye for an eye, __in the afterlife I'll haunt you 'till you die!"_

Kurt finished off with a final grating note, excepting the polite applause with a forced smile. Mr. Schue jumped up.

"That was great!" He exclaimed, clapping Kurt on the shoulder. Kurt stumbled a little, blinking his eyes rapidly. "It was a perfect start, excellent job, Kurt!"

Kurt smiled and nodded before moving back to his spot. Mr. Schue clapped once, "Next up, Rachel!"

Rachel jumped up immedietly and the song started quickly after. A heavy bass followed by her overly happy voice filled the room; and once she was sure Rachel was too engrossed in her performance to notice anything, Mercedes turned to Kurt. He was watching Rachel with the bored, blank stare he always did when she performed. Feeling her gaze, he turned to meet Mercedes' eyes.

"_What?" _he mouthed. Mercedes broke the eye contact and pulled out her phone. She hid it under her bag so Mr. Schue wouldn't see the backlight and opened up the notepad.

_We're talking about this later. _ She typed quickly before offering the phone to Kurt. He took it and glanced at the screen. He sighed before typing something into the keypad and giving it back. Once again, Kurt focused his attention on Rachel, blatantly ignoring Mercedes. She stared at the side of his face for a few seconds longer before looking at his reply.

_Fine. _

That's all she got? No reassurance that there was nothing to talk about? Only one_ freaking word? _Kurt just sang a song about death and all she got was _fine? _

Maybe it was a good thing Kurt made plans to come over today, it meant Mercedes would most definitely be able to yell at him in peace.

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_Song: "The Dead Can't Testify" by Billy Talent. _


	3. Chapter 3

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"Mercy, will you _please _drop it?"

Mercedes looked over at Kurt who was sitting in the passenger's seat of her car, bag on his lap and a pleading, annoyed expression on his face.

"No. You really scared me, Kurt."

"Well I'm sorry," Kurt apologized, a slight tone of sarcasm lightly layering his voice, "but that still doesn't explain why you're talking to me about suicide!"

"I'm not talking to you about _suicide!_" Mercedes exploded, flinching slightly, "I'm asking you _why _you sang a song about it!"

"Technically it wasn't about suicide; the singer was hung… But that's irrelevant! Mercy," Kurt trailed off before picking up volume again, "I wasn't focusing on the death part of the song, I was focusing on the 'struggling to fit in' part!"

Mercedes huffed angrily and stared at the road. The last thing she needed right now was a car accident. "That doesn't explain why you looked so depressed that it seemed like you _were_ dead!"

"Oh my _god!_" Kurt groaned as he slid down in his seat a little too dramatically. "You are the last person I should have to explain this to!" He sat up straight and turned his head to stare at Mercedes with a look that suggested he was trying to teach a kindergartener. "It's called 'being theatrical,' Mercy; getting into character. If I sang that song with a cheery smile it wouldn't have half the impact it did."

Mercedes watched Kurt out of the corner of her eye before sighing and turning to look at him. "Fine, you're right." She reluctantly agreed; Kurt smiled in triumph. "I just love you too much to think about things like that." Mercedes admitted, her voice quieting down a little, "It scared me."

The smile faded off Kurt's lips almost instantly, "Well in that case, thank you. But don't worry," he said as he reached over and placed a hand on Mercedes' shoulder, "I'm not going anywhere."

Kurt dropped his hand and a silence fell over the vehicle for a few moments before Mercedes reached out and turned on the radio. A cheesy commercial for insurance filled the quiet before the DJ came back on.

"_Alright, we're takin' requests, so call in with your favourite song and we'll add it to our playlist!" _

The sounds of a ukulele followed the DJ's voice; the only damn reason Mercedes knew what a ukulele sounded like was because of Mr. Schue.

"Have you listened to the lyrics of this song?" Kurt asked, fiddling with the volume.

"Meh, not really, it's not my music."

Kurt smirked a little, "Well if we were ever in a scenario where I was to sing a song to you, I would sing this one. But knowing Mr. Schue, I doubt that will happen."

"Oh really?" Mercedes asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Mhmm," Kurt confirmed, "ignore the romantic aspect and it's practically our theme song."

Mercedes looked over at Kurt with a shining in her eyes, daring him to prove his point. Instead of elaborating in speech, Kurt opened his mouth and began singing along with the radio, his light, clear voice mixing with the singer's.

"_I knew I wouldn't forget you, and soon I went and let you blow my mind."_

Mercedes shook her head while laughing, turning her eyes back to the road.

"_Your sweet moonbeam, the smell of you in every single dream I dream. I knew when we collided, you're the one I have decided, who's one of my kind."_

At this part Kurt leaned over and smiled teasingly at Mercedes. She swatted him away and he leaned back, looking out the windshield as he continued to sing, a smile on his lips.

"_Hey soul sister, ain't that mister mister on the radio, stereo, the way you move ain't fair you know. Hey soul sister, I don't wanna miss a single thing you do tonight." _

Taking one hand off the wheel, Mercedes flicked off the radio, earning a disapproving look from Kurt.

"Baby, please explain why would sing that song to me? It has nothing to do with anything."

"If you take out the romantic meaning, and get down the point, this song is about a man finding his soul mate. A woman who is almost exactly like him." Kurt answered, fixing Mercedes with a kind, calculated look, "Do you understand now?"

"Kind of," Mercedes answered coyly, just to annoy Kurt. He sighed overly dramatically and sunk down into his chair, turning the radio back on and flipping through channels till Lady Gaga filled the car.

* * *

Mercedes finished pouring the freshly made popcorn into the plastic bowl and picked it up, making her way back to the living room where Kurt was stretched out on the couch.

"Move," she commanded, nudging Kurt's feet with her free hand. Without protest (which surprised Mercedes) he lifted his feet and moved them to the coffee table, allowing her a place to sit. Mercedes placed the popcorn bowl on Kurt's stomach before settling down into the cushions.

It wasn't two seconds before Kurt's feet were in her lap.

With an eyebrow arched, Mercedes turned to look at Kurt; he was still facing the television, but there was a coy smile on his lips.

"_Really?"_ Mercedes asked, pointing to his sock-clad foot. Kurt didn't say anything; instead he turned to look at her, lifting a single piece of popcorn to his lips. Mercedes couldn't help but smile.

"Fine," she laughed, plopping her hands down to rest on his calves, "What were you watching while I slaved away to make this popcorn?"

Now Kurt laughed, "Well if it's any consolation, this is amazing popcorn." He said as he lifted another piece to his mouth, "And," Kurt squinted at the TV and cocked his head to the side, "I'm not quite sure what I'm watching."

Mercedes turned her eyes to the television where men in blue coats with old school rifles on their arms were parading around.

"I think it's the history channel," Mercedes suggested, still watching the TV. Kurt shrugged.

"Whatever," he smiled, "I'm not here to watch TV," he said as he turned, giving Mercedes a wink.

"Oh fine," Mercedes laughed, and then continued with a sigh, "Let's get this planning over with." When Kurt didn't immediately jump up and start going over ideas, Mercedes looked over at him.

"I lied," Kurt said in quiet, coy little voice. He cast an almost embarrassed smile, "I actually have to help my dad out at the garage in ten minutes, but I wanted time to do this."

Throughout Kurt's little confession Mercedes was slowly starting to freak out; especially what with everything that went down today. Kurt lifted the popcorn bowl off his stomach and placed it on the table before standing up and grabbing Mercedes' hand, pulling her up too.

"Mercedes Jones," Kurt started, a light blush coloring his pale cheeks, "Will you do me the honour…" he reached around to pull a little black box out from his jacket pocket as he sunk to one knee. Mercedes was sure her eyebrows were disappearing into her hair line. "… Of accepting my gift to you, even though it is early?"

Kurt opened the lid and revealed a large heart-shaped bronze locket with blue diamonds embedded in the metal. The locket was stunning, Mercedes was actually blushing.

"You nerd," Mercedes giggled. Kurt laughed and ducked his head before looking back up, his blue eyes sparkling like the diamonds on the necklace. Mercedes couldn't help but do a mock curtsy.

"I will," she said with a fake British accent. Kurt rolled his eyes but stood up anyways, gently taking the locket out of the velvet casing and handing it to Mercedes.

Eagerly, Mercedes dug her nail between the creases and popped the heart open, immediately searching for whatever little pictures Kurt decided to put in. Mercedes frowned; there were none. Instead, engraved on the left side was a little message.

_Für immer _

"Fer… Immer?" Mercedes asked, trying to understand the little gold words. Kurt laughed at her attempt.

"My great grandparents on my mom's side were German," He explained, nodding at the locket.

Mercedes stopped, pulling her wide eyes away from the locket to look at Kurt, "You mean this belonged to your great grandparents? So then I'm going to assume it went to your grandparents… on your mom's side, which means-"

"Here's the card," Kurt cut her off by handing her a stiff, white envelope with her name neatly scrawled in the middle. "And you can't open _that _till your actual birthday. I'm serious, I mean right down to your birth _time._" He fixed her with a teasing, icy glare, proving that he wasn't kidding. Mercedes could've protested, but she decided against it.

"Fine, I guess I can wait." She sighed, taking a leaf out of Kurt's book and overdoing it. Despite all the teasing, that uneasy feeling was starting to grow again. The early birthday present, the letter she couldn't open till tomorrow- needless to say, Mercedes was worried.

"Kurt?" Mercedes called, instantly gaining his attention, "Why are you giving me this now, and telling me I can't open the letter till later?"

Confusion flickered across Kurt's face as he studied Mercedes. Then so fast it was like turning the page in a picture book, understanding dawned on his features.

"You think I'm going to go put a bullet in my head, don't you?" He asked, crossing his arms. Mercedes flinched; she braced herself for the verbal attack that was about to proceed. "You know, contrary to popular belief, I'm _happy._" Kurt's voice was not unkind or even icy, "I have great friends, I have an amazing dad, and I get good grades. Not to mention I'm going to be famous one day." He leaned forward, a mocking smile on his lips, "Now why _on earth_ would I take my talent away from the people of America?"

Mercedes looked down, smiling at her ridiculousness and trying to squash the apparently unnecessary concern in her body. Even if Kurt was going to kill himself, which he was making very clear that he wasn't, it sure as hell wouldn't be on Mercedes' birthday.

Mercedes was almost shocked when arms wound themselves around her shoulders, "Stop being so paranoid," Kurt said quietly in her ear. He pulled away and stared right into Mercedes' eyes, "I'm not going_ anywhere._"

Smiling a timid, slightly embarrassed smile, Mercedes returned the hug, wrapping her arms tightly around Kurt's middle. He laughed, "Yes, um, I'm going to keep my promise, but I actually have to go…"

Mercedes laughed and tightened her embrace before letting go.

"Thank you." Mercedes said, looking down at the locket again. It really was beautiful; Mercedes couldn't wait to wear it.

Kurt smiled one of his pure, loving smiles that Mercedes loved so much, "You're welcome." He returned. He walked to the door, slid his feet into his shoes and grabbed his bag. With one hand on the door knob, Kurt turned, smiling warmly at Mercedes before he was gone.

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_A/N: I apologize. Lot of poo in my life, but yay! Updated chapter :D _

_Review? _


	4. Author's Note Adopted

Hey everybody,

This story has been adopted by **Ice-avenged.** I've passed it on into her very capable hands.

There's a link in my profile to hers. If the story is not up yet, it will be soon.

-Megan


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